Syrian Democratic Forces release civilians trapped by ISIS
[ARA News] KOBANE – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have announced the final phase of the operation to liberate civilians taken hostage by ISIS in the al-Sirib neighbourhood in Manbij city, after ISIS rejected initiatives to allow civilians to escape the war-torn city.
According to the SDF-led Manbij Military Council, they have saved so far 170,000 civilians trapped in the city from ISIS. “ISIS has been using civilians as human shields and make them part of their military plans since the liberation campaign began [on 31 May], but we took all necessary measures to protect the life of our people,” the council said in a statement on Friday.
The SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council says that their forces now control most of Manbij, and tightened the siege on ISIS militants. In a response, ISIS has tried to use civilians as human shields “in order to exploit our moral commitments,” the council said.
“As a result we have offered three initiatives to save civilians, and to remove them from the battle zones, the last one was five days ago, but it was rejected by ISIS extremists who have no concern about innocent children and women,” the council said.
ARA News reporters have witnessed several civilians being injured and killed by ISIS mines and snipers, some of them are being treated by the doctors in the Amal hospital in Kobane.
Video report at the link
ISIS executes 1 in Ninevah
[ARA News] DUHOK – Radical group of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Friday executed a young Iraqi man by throwing him from the top of a building on charges of being gay.
ISIS extremists detained the young man in Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh province under the pretext that he was “a homosexual“.
“The young man was brutally thrown from the top of a tall building in front of dozens of people,” a local media activist told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.
ISIS has also released a videotape showing the execution of the young man and the beheading of others that, according to the group, have violated the Caliphate’s rules.
“Those who dare to oppose Allah’s Sharia and the Caliphate’s rules deserve punishment,” an ISIS jihadi said before his fellow militants conducted the execution.
Speaking to ARA News, head of Nineveh media centre Raafat al-Zarari said: “Civilians who live under ISIS suppression are forced to follow any order by the group, otherwise they could get killed. It’s a bitter reality in territories held by this terror group.”
The ISIS-linked Sharia Court had issued a decision to execute every gay man by throwing him from the top of a building, according to eyewitnesses.
Over the past three years, the extremist group has executed dozens of allegedly gay men in its areas of control in Syria and Iraq.